Yes, a military attorney can dispute this denial. A request for reassignment stabilization for a single parent is typically based on the requirements of their approved Family Care Plan and the need to provide a stable environment for their children. This is a readiness issue. A decision to deny this stabilization should be based on current, compelling military needs or the soldier’s current inability to perform their duties. Using a past, unrelated Non-Judicial Punishment (NJP) as the sole basis for the denial can be challenged as an arbitrary and unreasonable decision.
The attorney would file an appeal of the denial to the appropriate personnel authority. The appeal would argue that the past NJP is “stale” and has no bearing on the soldier’s current ability to perform their duties or to be a responsible single parent. The attorney would highlight the soldier’s excellent performance record since the NJP to show that they have been rehabilitated. The argument is that the command is acting punitively by using the old NJP as a pretext to deny a valid hardship request.
The appeal would focus on the merits of the Family Care Plan and the significant hardship that a reassignment would cause for the children. The attorney would contend that the command is abusing its discretion by allowing a past disciplinary issue to outweigh the current, documented welfare of the soldier’s family. This can be a very persuasive argument for a higher authority to overturn the denial.